BELICHICK AND THE PATRIOTS... MERE COINCIDENCE OR FURTHER CHEATING?

We all know by now (unless you are a very ignorant person, or a die hard Patriots fan) that Bill Belichick has been known to have some extra tricks up his sleeve, and not all of them have been fair nor legal.

To give you some backstory, a couple of years ago, the Jets (and by the Jets I mean their former coach Eric Mangini) blew Belichick and the Patriots in for cheating. According to Mangini, who had worked with Belichick for a few years in Foxboro, knew that he was videotaping other teams in order to get the advantage. So when Mangini became a head coach for a team that was rival's with Belichick, Mangini wasted no time catching Belichick and his videotaping buddies.

After all of the hooplah, and the $500,000 fine that the NFL imposed on Belichick (I think to get rid of cheating you have to get rid of the man but the NFL sucks up to him too much to do something THAT incredulous), came other reports that the Patriots not only taped teams during the regular season, but that they taped the Rams before they met for the Super Bowl all those years ago, which became the beginning of the end.

So now that you know that Belichick has a history of cheating, both alleged and fact, another story has developed between the Patriots and the Jets. Last Sunday, the Patriots found their mojo and pleasantly pounded the New York Jets, 31-14. However, there have been other reports that came out after the beating that some trickery was afoot in Foxboro.

According to the Shutdown Corner on Yahoo! Sports, The Jets had a very unwanted wake up call at one o'clock in the morning during their stay at a hotel the night before Sunday's game. Some players seemed to take it in stride, and even made fun of the situation, and others were flat out pissed off. Now, I am not a fan of either team, but I would be fuming if I was a Jet's player and that I wasn't given the same amount of ample rest I needed before a AFC east division game. Especially since the team to beat is the Patriots.

Now, I would blow it off and say some hard core Patriots fans were being ***holes and wanted to play a funny prank on the Jets. I mean, if I lived in Buffalo, and the Jets came to play in Ralph Wilson stadium (which they aren't this year, sadly) and I either worked the hotel or knew where they were staying, I would think it would be a great prank to pull. Of course, I probably wouldn't attempt it seeing as though all of the members of the Jets are far bigger than me and many football players have anger management issues, which would result in myself most likely earning a near-life-ending beat down. But I digress, the reason this smells fishy is because the same exact thing happened to the Buffalo Bills when they stayed at the same hotel in Foxboro, the night before they ALMOST beat the Patriots back in week one. Am I saying this too early wake up call was the reason the Bills lost? Not at all. But the fact that this keeps happening to the visiting team in Foxboro is disconcerting. I wonder if Mangini had stayed with the Jets, would he have outed Belichick for this too?

On the final note: "It sounds like there's a fan (or fans) who still like to pull middle school pranks to help support the team. Or maybe it's not a fan at all. Judging by his past history, I wonder if Bill Belichick has an alibi for last night? "

Jaclyn Kahn

GIANTS NERVOUS ABOUT QB LEAK BEFORE SEASON BEGINS

Best opening line in an article: "What's pink, puffy and screams a lot when it's not whining? Right, it's Tom Coughlin!"

You may be asking yourself, well why is he so angry? Did another of his players shoot himself in a crowded club? No, this time, Coughlin, the coach of the New York Giants, is angry because the Washington Redskins recently acquired backup quarterback, Andre Woodson. Just after Woodson learned some Giants' plays, calls, and signals he was shipped over to the Redskins. This is what is making Coughlin see red. Lots and lots of red.

The thing that I don't quite understand is how Coughlin automatically thinks that the Redskins are trying to cheat and learn how they play. Of course if that was the case, then Washington has a brain since they are in the same division as the Giants, and this of course could help them when they play them all TWO times this season. Coughlin needs to relax. I think that he would be someone who would draft a player just to find out impertinent information so that he could get his team to the top. And if he really didn't want that to happen, then maybe he shouldn't have cut Woodson. Problem solved.

I find it funny that Coughlin is calling (or the media is having us believe he is calling) Woodson "Benedict Andre." The simple fact is that if you thought he had any talent at all, you would have kept him on the roster and wouldn't have let him go to any team that wanted him. And speaking of Benedict anyone, I can recall when the "god" QB on the Giants was signed to the San Diego Chargers and refused to play for them until he was traded to the New York Giants. So Benedict Andre doesn't even come across as the bad guy of the organization. He got cut. He went somewhere else. Get over it. Wait and see if the Redskins can beat you this season. IF they beat you all two times, maybe you could make a case for cheating, but it could also be the incredible overhype and under performing ape you call quarterback.

Jaclyn Kahn